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Keto and Lunchmeat

Posts: 26 Member
edited November 2024 in Social Groups
Hello everyone!
I was curious if anyone doing keto eat lunchmeat at all and what your thoughts are on pros/cons would be.

My husband are in week 2 and its okay. Were using it more of a guideline to follow to just cut out sugar and carbs so I'm trying to find different things for breakfasts, lunches, snacks etc.

Also suggestions on lunches or snacks are welcome :) Right now my snacks are hardboiled eggs, cheese, or slim jims.









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Replies

  • Posts: 23 Member
    We eat it. It's nice and convenient. We try to find the lowest sugar/carb kinds. We have always loved lunchmeat sandwiches so that is a tough adjustment.
  • Posts: 3,777 Member
    I eat turkey and chicken breast and have no issues fitting it into my macros. I can't say if it makes a difference, but I typically buy the stuff from the counter rather than the prepackaged stuff.

    I've also made my own from frozen whole turkey breast. It's so much better tasting than processed lunchmeat.
  • Posts: 682 Member
    I eat it sometimes....i'll make cheese and meat rollups with pickle in the middle. Although, I'm not a poster-child for conformity :)
  • Posts: 7,041 Member
    I ate lunchmeat when I was keto. I'm just low-carb now and still eat lunchmeat. Never a whole pack at a time or anything, but I dice the lowest carb ham I can find on my salad almost daily. On camping trips, I roll lunchmeat and cheese up together for lunches.

    Nothing wrong with lunchmeat, IMO.
    Others will disagree. To each their own.
  • Posts: 213 Member
    I don't eat lunchmeat. I always cook extra meat at dinner time so I have something the next day. My snacks include olives, cherry tomatoes, pork rinds, laughing cow cheese, gherkins, nuts, beef jerky or biltong, can of tuna, eggs or avocado.
  • Posts: 2,732 Member
    Salami is another food that fits well as a snack in a keto plan. The presliced packages make it easy to track calories and macros. Regular versions if they fit your plan - low fat versions available if you need lower calories. I buy Gallo brand in the western US.
  • Posts: 12,019 Member
    Pepperoni is my favourite snack. And I love bacon. I have processed meats a few times a week; sometimes every day.
  • Posts: 46 Member
    I eat lunch meat all the time! If you get ham make sure to get smoked instead of honey (less sugar)
  • Posts: 4,474 Member
    I eat it. Ham and the mystery meat aka bologna. Love bologna. :) Also like pastrami and deli corned beef. And deli roast beef but I usually make enough roast beef (pot roast) for leftovers.

    Lettuce wraps are a frequent lunch.
  • Posts: 4,810 Member
    I get nitrate free smoked ham and turkey. It makes for a nice quick lunch with string cheese and pickles.
  • Posts: 26 Member
    Thanks Everyone! I really appreciate the input. I've noticed that while most are low in carbs make up for a high calorie intake so it'll definitely take additional planning on my part. Good to know that its not completely off the table though!
  • Posts: 328 Member
    Cadori wrote: »
    I get nitrate free smoked ham and turkey. It makes for a nice quick lunch with string cheese and pickles.

    Yeah definitely try to get the nitrite free lunch meats or eat the others pretty sparingly, your colon will thank you for it.
  • Posts: 12,019 Member
    Xerogs wrote: »

    Yeah definitely try to get the nitrite free lunch meats or eat the others pretty sparingly, your colon will thank you for it.

    I think nitrate free is nice, but some nitrates is not a big problem for people.

    Now if all the meat you eat is very processed and loaded with nitrates, that is less than ideal than the whole cuts, IMO.... but it beats out the other foods my kids want to snack on like crackers or cereal. :D
  • Posts: 4,810 Member
    Added sodium nitrate makes one of my kids vomit. Nitrates found in celery juice do not. So I buy nitrate free.
  • Posts: 12,019 Member
    Cadori wrote: »
    Added sodium nitrate makes one of my kids vomit. Nitrates found in celery juice do not. So I buy nitrate free.

    Vomiting? Wow. I'd never heard of that before. Now THAT must have been a hard one to figure out!
    AnvilTime wrote: »
    Actually, the meats still have nitrite/nitrates in them. The manufacturer stated no added nitrites/nitrates, but if you look at the ingredient list, you'll see celery juice, or another green vegetable juice, that has been used. Why do they use these juices? Well, because they are naturally high in nitrites and/or nitrates depending upon the vegetable itself. A big bowl of most green veggies will contain quite a bit of nitrite/nitrates.

    Also, ALL commercially made bacon will be NITRATE free, because the FDA doesn't permit nitrates in bacon, only nitrite.

    Thanks. :) So true.
  • Posts: 811 Member
    I just avoid lunch meat that has added sugars, like honey glazed anything. I don’t eat it that often, though. I usually have leftover chicken breast around or make a turkey burger if i have time.
  • Posts: 50 Member
    Salami and cheese is one of my go to snacks. And I like ham with my eggs. If you read labels, you can definitely find some that are better than others. Every body reacts differently, though, so you have to see if it works for you. I can’t imagine it’s any worse than commercially prepared jerky, though.
  • Posts: 514 Member
    edited March 2018
    I love mortadella (aka, fancy Italian bologna). It's not a very good source of protein, though. Nice for a snack, not a meal. I just made a cheese spread to make rollups. :)
  • Posts: 682 Member
    AnvilTime wrote: »
    I home cure a LOT of meats each year and that, along with some home smoked cheese, are my go to snacks or quick dinners.
    xzhhw56xl8rt.jpg

    Dude this looks awesome
  • Posts: 261 Member
    Boar's Head Everroast chicken from the deli counter is THE best thing EVER! I eat it ALL THE TIME. Seriously. Try it. Soooooo delicious!
  • Posts: 825 Member
    edited April 2018
    My local grocer cooks turkey and roast beef and slices it up for the deli, using fresh meat from their meat department. It's the closest thing I've found to homemade, not pre-packaged/preserved. I love it :)
  • Posts: 201 Member
    I am just diligent about reading labels. If it has sugar in the ingredients, I don't get it. Right now, in my fridge, I have oven roasted chicken, turkey and cheese bologna, and black forest ham. I buy the thinly sliced provolone and make meat/cheese roll ups with mustard in the middle, super yummy! :yum:
  • Posts: 48 Member
    If it has any sugar or carbs in the nutritional/ingredients I don't eat it. Which basically means I don't eat it
  • Posts: 490 Member
  • Posts: 8,159 Member
    If it has any sugar or carbs in the nutritional/ingredients I don't eat it. Which basically means I don't eat it


    This sums up my general practice.
  • Posts: 142 Member
    Green olives are my life saver! Other snacks: pepperoni, cheese, salami, eggs
  • Posts: 94 Member
    edited April 2018
    One of my go-to staple meal preps I make weekly uses lunch meat and it has not affected my weight loss of 1.5 pounds per week for the last six months. I prepare baked egg cups using the lunch meat to line muffin tins. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese softened & mixed with thyme on the meat, crack an egg into it and bake. I LOVE these as breaky on the run or they also work well as a quick snack. My favorite meat for egg cups lately is Ziggy's turkey pastrami with 1g carb for 4 slices. It's the perfect size for my shallow muffin cups to prevent the eggs from spilling over the edges and they pop out like magic without any extra oil in the tin (because prying egg cups or cleaning baked eggs out of muffin tins is just ugly)
  • Posts: 4,474 Member
    That's pretty brilliant @itzcath. I may never do it since I rarely if ever eat on the run but it's still brilliant. :) I recall several months ago someone posted enchiladas that used luncheon meat as the tortilla. That idea is another keeper.
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